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New Hampshire woman indicted in Elizabeth Marriott case

A 19-year-old woman has been indicted on charges that she lied about her whereabouts the day a University of New Hampshire student was killed last year.

Kathryn "Kat" McDonough of Portsmouth was indicted in Rockingham Superior Court this month on felony charges of hindering apprehension or prosecution, conspiracy to commit hindering apprehension or prosecution and witness tampering,

Prosecutors say McDonough lied when she told investigators she had no contact with Elizabeth "Lizzi" Marriott on Oct. 9 - the day prosecutors say Seth Mazzaglia strangled or suffocated the UNH sophomore at his Dover apartment. Prosecutors say McDonough also gave a false alibi for her and Mazzaglia's whereabouts.

Photo timeline: Lizzi Marriott slaying

Photo timeline: Lizzi Marriott slaying

UNH student Lizzi Marriott, 19, first went missing Tuesday night. Her last cell phone signal was picked up at around 10:10 p.m. in Dover, where she was headed to meet up with friends.

Marriott was a 2011 graduate of Westborough High School in Massachusetts. She lived with an aunt in Chester and commuted to the Durham campus.

Volunteers and searchers put up missing posters for Marriott.

Posters were placed all over the UNH campus.

A $10,000 reward was offered in Marriott's disappearance.

Days passed without any word of Marriott's whereabouts.

The car Marriott was last seen driving.

Friday evening, officials said they did not believe anything "nefarious" had happened to Marrriott and they were treating the disappearance as a missing persons case.

Marriott was a marine biology major who volunteered at the New England Aquarium.

A family friend, Dawn Downey of Westborough, Mass., described as an attractive young woman who was active in chorus in high school and was prom queen during her junior year. was helping to put herself through college by working at Target.

Marriott, who was living in Chester with relatives, was visiting an apartment in Dover when she went missing. Police placed crime tape around a dumpster outside that apartment on Friday.

Police began searching Friday night the area near Peirce Island in Portsmouth for Marriott's body.

Authorities searched into the night for the body. They cleared the scene on Saturday afternoon.

Family and friends in Westborough canceled plans to go to New Hampshire and search Saturday morning when word came Marriott was dead.

At a news conference on Saturday, police announced that Marriott is dead and that they have a 29-year-old man in custody.

Seth Mazzaglia, 29, was charged with second-degree murder in Marriott's death. He is from Dover and is an actor and karate instructor.

A law enforcement source told Newscenter 5 Saturday that they believed Marriott's body had been dumped in the water.

Authorities said said police had "credible" information leading them to believe Marriott is dead, though they wouldn't elaborate.

Authorities said Mazzaglia knew Marriott, but declined to say how or what led to the arrest.

Mazzaglia was a martial arts instructor who described himself on websites as having a black belt in karate and being familiar with several forms of martial arts and weapons.

Mazzaglia, who graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in theater, was active in the arts, performing in several dozen plays and musicals over the last decade in southern New Hampshire.

"We were greatly saddened to learn of Lizzi's death and we extend our deepest sympathies to her family and friends," UNH President Mark W. Huddleston said in a statement. "Lizzi was a new member of the university community and will be missed in our classrooms. Our focus now will be on supporting our campus community during this difficult time."

"This is the parents' worst nightmare, a missing child and with an unfavorable outcome," family said in a statement Saturday. The family asked for prayers for rescue personnel who are looking for their daughter, saying they need to "bring her home."

A prayer service and vigil was held in Westborough Saturday night after Marriott was declared dead.

Westborough residents hold candles during a vigil at Bay State Commons in Westborough Saturday night in memory of Elizabeth Marriott.

The organizers of a candlight vigil in memory of Elizabeth Marriott hug before the start of the vigil Saturday night at Bay State Commons in Westborough.

Bob Marriott, the father of Elizabeth Marriott, hugs Brittany Atwood, 24, of North Grafton, a close friend of his daughter, during a candlelight vigil in Marriott's memory at Bay State Commons in Westborough Saturday night.

Friends of Elizabeth Marriott hold a candlelight vigil in her memory at the Bay State Commons in Westborough Saturday night.

Meaghan Hoyt, a Westborough High School classmate and close friend of Elizabeth Marriott, attends a candlelight vigil in Marriott's memory at Bay State Commons in Westborough Saturday night.

Bob Marriott, center, the father of Elizabeth Marriott, hugs a family friend during candlelight vigil in memory of his daughter at the Bay State Commons in Westborough Saturday night. At left is Brittany Atwood, 24, of North Grafton, a close friend of Elizabeth Marriott.

In Mezzaglia's initial court appearance, the Judge said Marriott was killed the day she disappeared and was either strangled or suffocated.

Mezzaglia was ordered held without bail.

A supermarket clerk told NewsCenter 5 that Mezzaglia would come in almost daily to flirt with or harass the cashiers. She said you could tell "something was not right about him."

Craig Faulkner, who works at a theater company where Mazzaglia had auditioned, said he chatted with Mazzaglia for about 20 minutes on Friday while shopping at Best Buy in Newington. Mazzaglia, who was working in the store's video game section, told him: "Life is good," said Faulkner, producing artistic director at Seacoast Repertory Theatre in Portsmouth.

Kathryn McDonough was arrested on Dec. 24, and charged by the New Hampshire Attorney General with one felony count each of Hindering Apprehension or Prosecution, and Conspiracy to Commit Hindering Apprehension or Prosecution.

Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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